


Fade Step

by dropdeadcynical



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Chess, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 13:57:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3652977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dropdeadcynical/pseuds/dropdeadcynical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This one is yours. Well played,” he said while giving her a lopsided smile, “though I suppose cheating aided your victory quite a bit.”<br/>Shameless fluff, and some magical tackling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fade Step

Most days spent in Skyhold were horribly dull for the Inquisitor. If it wasn’t audiences with minor Orlesian nobles, it was seemingly endless hours spent at the war table, or something equally boring. Her sense of duty was strong and she would never forsake anything important to the Inquisition, but some days she wished she could just walk into the tavern and drink herself into a stupor, or listen to Bull telling his wacky tales.

But there were certain advantages to being stuck in Skyhold, most of them included spending time with her inner circle or tending to the garden. She didn’t exactly have green hands– well, technically she has one green hand due to the mark – but she liked keeping herself busy with simpler things, such as planting elfroot seeds or simply strolling around the garden or the battlements. The fresh mountain air and the solitude of the secluded fortress kept her calm and provided a peaceful contrast to her usually chaotic life.

The garden had become one of her favorite places after she and Cullen had begun playing chess with each other more frequently. They could spend hours simply talking and contemplating their moves and flirting – horribly.

They had both become better at it as their relationship blossomed, but it was still sometimes hard for them to express their feelings for each other without being terribly awkward. So instead of words, she had opted for simple gestures such as brushing her fingers against his when moving her pawns, or brushing her leg against his when she scooted closer to him. As their games progressed, they’d both lean in closer to each other, unintentionally or not.

“This one is yours. Well played,” he said while giving her a lopsided smile, “though I suppose cheating aided your victory quite a bit.”

Talia feigned shock, her hand moving in front of her mouth and staring at him with mock-bewilderment, “Me? Cheat? I would _never_!” she cooed, leaning forward ever so slightly. He leaned closer as well, grasping at her wrist while looking into her eyes. The gesture caught her off-guard and for a second she thought he was leaning in for a kiss, but he only reached into the sleeve of her shirt and pulled out one of the pawns. “Then I assume this just magically appeared inside your sleeve?” he chuckled as he placed that pawn back onto the board, his eyes crinkling from smiling. She gave him a pout in return; for once she didn’t have a witty reply for him. His smile only deepened, with a hint of mischief in his eyes. He took her wrist in his hand again, but this time he brought it up to face and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles before he moved it to his cheek, she extended her fingers and stroked the dark stubble there. For a brief moment they both forgot that they were actually in public and dozens of people were tending to their business around them, most of whom sent them glances and knowing smiles. Cullen had stopped fussing so much about ‘private affairs’, and was in fact quite happy to give the people something to gossip about, so he kept going and leaned further into her hand on his cheek.

“Adorable,” was the only word she could muster as she smiled at him, reaching her other hand up to his face to caress his other cheek. A flush crept onto his face and the lopsided smile remained, the scar on his upper lip stretching slightly. Talia always found great joy in making the ever so stoic Commander Cullen blush or look away shyly, mostly because he really only did it around her. She didn’t do it to make him feel uncomfortable or even embarrassed, she just felt happy knowing that he felt comfortable enough around her to let his guard down and be the gentle man she’s come to know him as.

“Lady Inquisitor, Seeker Pentaghast asked for you,” a careful and youthful-sounding voice chimed in and forced Talia’s attention away from Cullen to the recruit standing by the gazebo. She recognized him as the same recruit that had interrupted them one before and she offered him a coy smile. She swore a blush appeared on his face almost immediately. “Very well, thank you for informing me,” she spoke with a soft tone and rose from her seat, much to Cullen’s dismay. He rose from his chair as well and nodded at the recruit who swiftly turned around and nearly sprinted away. “I think he’s afraid of you, I supposed I would be too if I got stared down by the big _bad_ Commander” she snorted, emphasizing her words by ruffling his fur mantle as she spoke. Cullen only grinned at her and pushed lightly at her shoulders to make her move backwards a bit before leaning down to her ear, “I thought you liked me big and _bad_ ” he growled into her ear, making her giggle and push at his chest. Sighing, she turned around and walked away from the gazebo to go see whatever business Cassandra had with her. “I’ll catch you later,” she said as she turned her upper body around to wink at him before walking away. Cullen only chuckled in reply and started gathering up the chess pieces to put the set away.

 

* * *

 

 

Nearly two hours later she finally managed to sneak away from the Seeker, as much as she adored Cassandra she could be a bit overbearing. Nonetheless, their meeting at the war table proved fruitful in their recent search of the missing Seekers.

Talia stretched slightly as she entered the main hall, eager to move her legs and get some fresh air again. As she passed by the gathering of Orlesians in the hall, she could hear them whispering about her and the Commander, and the ‘allure of command’. She nearly burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it and their complete lack of discretion, but chose to ignore them as she walked past them. As she stepped outside, she sun had gone down quite a bit which bathed Skyhold in a beautiful mixed shade of orange and purple. The air still felt warm and light which allowed most people of Skyhold to dress lightly.

Talia enjoyed walking around the courtyard and chatting with people, most of whom truly appreciated talking to the Inquisitor herself. It was good to remind her to be humble, and that before anything else she was human. As she walked by the tavern she saw Cullen at the ground below her, talking to several scouts and giving them orders. The afternoon sun made him glow in an almost ethereal way and caused his armor to shine. She felt a pleasant tingle as she looked down at him now, shamelessly admiring him. He was resting his arm against the hilt of his sword as his voice rang out across the yard. The scouts saluted and swiftly ran off to wherever they had business. Cullen turned around and placed his hands on the desk at the bottom of the nearby stairs, completely occupied with whatever he was reading on it. Talia grinned as a brilliant idea popped up in her head, and she briefly nodded at Scout Harding as she made her way down the stairs to the lower courtyard. “Commander, catch!” she shouted to get his attention, and he barely had time to look up as she took a few steps before magically appearing in front of him and tackling him to the ground.

For a split second she thought he’d be mad at her for interrupting him or perhaps even hurting him, but he only looked at her wide-eyed for a moment before his head fell back on the ground and he let out a hearty laughter, almost loud enough to echo off the walls. She couldn’t resist laughing either as she looked down at his handsome face and she could barely squeeze out any words, “I told you I’d catch you later,” she wheezed out, brushing the hair from her face before resting her hands on his chest. He glanced up at her, a toothy grin adorning his face. In a flash she was on her back beneath him with her hands tightly laced with his on both sides of her face. “We have an audience,” she insisted, pointing with one free finger at the very amused people surrounding the pair. Cullen briefly shot them a glance before peering back down at her, a goofy smile on his face. He shook his head and leaned down close to her face.

“Let them watch” he whispered before quickly claiming her lips in a kiss, both of them smiling into it and enjoying the moment.


End file.
